Walking through Italy
Lucca: the town with one hundred churches
In this episode of our page “Walking through Italy”, we present the city of Lucca. A large number of monuments, above all churches, enrich it. Jacopo della Quercia, here, realized his most famous work: the funeral monument dedicated to Ilaria del Carretto.
We are in Tuscany and more precisely in Lucca.
The first traces of human settlements on this territory lead to the Ligurian. In fact, it seems that it was founded on an island of the river Auser (now, the Serchio); the hypothesis is confirmed by the Ligurian-Celtic root “luk”, which indicates a marshland.
Its aspect is typically medieval, but its origins come back to the Roman period: a testimony of this is the Roman Amphitheatre of the II century, whose original planimetry is still visible.
A tree-lined boundary wall, which is completely practicable, surrounds all the town.
Lucca is also called the “town with one hundred churches”, because of the large number of churches in its old town centre, most of all in Romanesque style; in addition, towers and campaniles, gardens, internal courtyards of old houses enrich it.
Most important is the Cathedral of Saint Martin, whose interior houses the tomb of Ilaria del Carretto by Jacopo della Quercia and the “Volto Santo” (Holy Face). Its façade is in Romanesque style and it was realized by Guidetto from Como.
The right door, called “Saint Regolo”, leads to the homonymous altar: the Saint is represented in the lunette and in the architrave; while the left door is called “ Holy Cross”and it leads to the little temple of the “Volto Santo”.
The interior is in Gothic style and offers to its visitors lots of works of art, such as the pulpit by Matteo Civitali, the Nativity and the Crucifixion by Passignano, the Adoration of the Magi by Federico Zuccari and the Last Supper by Tintoretto.
It is possible to admire the most famous funeral monument dedicated to Ilaria del Carretto in the sacristy; she was the wife of the merchant Paolo Guinigi, who, after the untimely death of her, decides to honour her for her straight conduct with a sepulchral monument commissioned to the artist Jacopo della Quercia.
A sleeping woman, adorned with elegant garments, appears to our eyes and a dog, symbol of conjugal fidelity, is near her feet.
A chapel preserves the “Volto Santo”, a wooden Crucified, work by Matteo Civitali. According to the legend, he was helped by angels to mould the countenance of Christ. It was placed on a boat, which goes through the Mediterranean, and docked at Luni, then it arrived to Lucca on a cart, which was freely towed by oxen.
A curiosity: the “Volto Santo” is also cited in “The Divine Comedy” (XXI Canto Inferno).
Among the most important monuments, we can not forget the Tower Guinigi and the Tower of the Clock.
The first one was constructed in the fourteenth century and its name derives from the fact that it was commissioned by the Guinigi, famous merchants of Lucca. They wanted to embellish their austere residences with a tower with trees, so on its top appear two ilexes. According to a particular legend, the highest tree was planted by Paolo Guinigi, Lord of Lucca, and, when he was captured and imprisoned in the castle, his death was foreboded by the fact that this tree lost all its leaves.
The second one is also called “Tower of the Quarrel”, because the goldsmith Cerlotti, who realized the mechanism, and the commune competed for the property.
Another interesting place to visit is the Basilica of Saint Frediano, whose left chapel houses the "Trenta Altar" by Jacopo della Quercia; while the Palazzo Mansi, now seat of the National Picture-gallery, contains a large number of works of art of artists, such as Beccafumi, Bronzino, Pontormo, Veronese, Domenichino.
Ilaria Baratta
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